Name: Sweet and Spicy Sriracha Roast Cashews
Prep time: 10 min
Cook time: 20 min
Total time: 30 min
Ingredients: 1/4 cup packed Light Brown Sugar; 1 Tbsp Sriracha sauce ((such as Huy Fong)); 1 inch piece Fresh Ginger, finely grated; 3 Makrut Lime Leaves, minced ((see note)); 1 1/2 cups Raw Cashews; 1 Tbsp White Sesame Seeds

It seems sriracha is everywhere - on popcorn, in salad dressing, as a marinade for chicken, combined with chocolate, and drizzled over pizza. It makes for some really fantastic Sweet and Spicy Sriracha Roast Cashews as well.

Since moving abroad, I'm not always up on the latest "thing". At a week or so away from turning 32, I don't expect myself to be all that in-the-know, but thanks to Pinterest and Facebook and blogging, occasionally I notice that I've completely missed something has become very popular. I think Gangnam Style had 500 million youtube views before I saw it. Months ago we had visitors from the US (hi Alyssa!) who schooled us on hash tagging and the meaning of YOLO. This week I only just became aware of the obsession with all things zombie. (What is that about by the way?)

In the Bangkok of 2013, I can't blame all of my cluelessness on living abroad. Many people here have smartphones, so I could certainly be on Instagram or Twitter or WhatsApp. (I had to google the spelling on that last one.) Even though it is a choice not to use every social media platform, there's no avoiding the sense that I'm occasionally missing out. The temptation to always be hitting the "share" button on some social media platform or another seems to have come with my decision to start a blog, but the truth is, that's not the right thing for me. At least not for now.

On Saturday, Frank came back from a two-week work trip to Burma. We had the most gloriously quiet few days after his return. We met friends for dinner, watched movies, drank a shocking amount of hot tea on our couch, and spent a night after work lounging in the pool while it turned from dusk to dark. Apart from a Skype call or two with our families and editing a scheduled blog post, for days, all of our communication was done in person.

Weeks like this one remind me how restorative it can be to step away from the computer and, in my case, away from the camera. Today is Frank's birthday. My amazing husband needs no prompting to appreciate special moments, good conversation, artistic expression, or the value of slowing down. He seeks these things without effort and embraces them fully. It's simply who he is. As such, tonight we'll have a celebratory dinner, without a single thing to distract us. (Except, perhaps, if you count Frank's requested birthday dinner of sliders and onion straws.)

I'm unlikely to ever get on board with the zombie trend. The jury is still out on Twitter.

But Sriracha? Although this spicy chili sauce is far from new, its super trendy use in all sorts of foods is something I can get behind, like these Sriracha Roast Cashews.

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